Feminism and Masculinity Essay - 820 Words

In contemporary society, hegemonic masculinity is defined by physical strength and boldness, heterosexuality, economic independence, authority over women and other men, and an interest in sexual relationships. While most men do not embody all of these qualities, society supports hegemonic masculinity within all its institutions, including the educational institute, the religious institute and other institutes which form the ideological state apparatus. Standards of masculinity vary from time to time, from culture to culture. However, masculinity always defines itself as superior and different from femininity. For example, gay men and househusbands exemplify subordinate masculinities in our culture. They are not considered to be real†¦show more content†¦In recent years there have been many assertions that masculinity has been in crisis, supposedly as a result of the feminist movement. The concept of mail dominance being in the best interests of society is greatly challenged by many feminists. Since the 1970s (find out when feminism first came about) feminism has had a great deal of impact on society as feminist protested against dominant male unity. Many other critics however believe that it is women’s lives that have changed more so than men’s. As Judith Stacey states in her book, Theory and Society (1993), â€Å"journalists and academics share recognition of a problem, a problem that is named not femininit y in crisis but as a crisis in masculinity† (Stacey, 1993: 719). So although more changes are going on in women’s lives, men are more affected and the notion of masculinity is therefore resulting in a crisis. According to Anthony Clare the heart of the masculinity crisis lies within the understanding of â€Å"the private and public sphere, the intimate and the impersonal, the emotional and the irrational† (Clare, 2000:212). Both men and women are both confined to their spaces and the line between the two has somewhat been blurred, thus resulting in a crisis. The way in which this line is blurred is by masculinity becoming more feminized. There have been two major shifts in masculinity overShow MoreRelatedFeminism and Masculinity Essay836 Words   |  4 Pagescontemporary society, hegemonic masculinity is defined by physical strength and boldness, heterosexuality, economic independence, authority over women and other men, and an interest in sexual relationships. While most men do not embody all of these qualities, society supports hegemonic masculinity within all its institutions, including the educational institute, the religious institute and other institutes which form the ideol ogical state apparatus. Standards of masculinity vary from time to time, fromRead MoreFeminism : The Patriarchy And Masculinity1273 Words   |  6 PagesPatricia Smith, have redefined patriarchy to be inclusive of gender identity (masculinity and femininity), yet the original implication of patriarchy relied on gender roles and a fixed gender binary. These theorists have argued that the patriarchy harms both men and women, as feminine men are ostracized for not fulfilling the role of an alpha male—a male who tends to be hyper-masculine. This belief that femininity and masculinity must align to the biological sex of an individual has been acknowledged byRead MoreEssay on Gender: Feminism and Masculinity1341 Words   |  6 Pages In a recent meta-analysis by Kite and Whitley in 1996, it was confirmed that men hold more negative attitudes toward homosexuality than do women. They also determined that mens attitudes toward homosexuality are particularly negative when the person being rated is a gay man rather than a lesbian. Their review of the literature also highlighted the complex nature of attitudes toward homosexuality noted by others. In order to understand the constructive attitudes of homosexuality, there are severalRead MoreRace, Class And Gender : Masculinity, Feminism, And Intersectionality887 Words   |  4 Pagesand gender through the viewpoints of three themes: Masculinity, Feminism, and Intersectionality. The topic of masculinity is one that every single man faces at some point in his life. The level of masculinity is dependent on how that individual was born and raised. At times, their level of masculinity is questioned and is forced to live with the positive and negatives of having too much or too low masculinity. Those that are high in masculinity are typically categorized as jocks and higher testosteroneRead MoreGender Roles And Issues Regarding Feminisms And Masculinity939 Words   |  4 Pagesvery crucial element in the American popular culture. What comes in mind when we talk about gender in the American popular culture so many questions go through the mind. The questions will go back to the gender roles and issues concerning feminisms and masculinity. One may question any advantage of being a male to a female because this is where stereotypes are arising especially in the American popular culture. Many scholars have written on gender and culture; most of the highlighted di scussions areRead MoreWomen s Role For Women1343 Words   |  6 Pagesassociated with men is called masculinity. Men have always felt superior to women while women are referred to as the weaker sex. Boys are raised up knowing that they are the stronger gender and that there are some tasks, which they can perform well than their female counterparts. The debate about equality for both genders has dominated the media over the years, from the times of feminism (the 1980s) to post feminism (Hokowhitu). In politics, the belief about masculinity is still a major issue thatRead MoreSocial Construction And Its Impact On Society Essay1578 Words   |  7 Pagesa society. In other words, this is when the value and meanings are tied to concepts such as feminity, masculinity, race, class and gender. Hence, this same values and meanings of such concepts change and impact the society we live in. Furthermore, the idea of a social construct is significant in many various ways. For example, social construct helps us understand about feminity and masculinity on a social platform to which society predict and attaches certain characteristics to both females andRead MoreFeminism And Its Effects On Women924 Words   |  4 PagesThe authors’ positions in feminism also changes how they suggest a man can and should use his male privilege, which affects the conversations and how feminism moves forward. As alluded to earlier, profeminist men understand and sympathize with women’s movement s and agree with their vision. Because they support feminism, Kimmel and Buchbinder educate and mobilize men to support feminism. They do this by addressing men and men’s movements while simultaneously pointing out the flaws and issues withinRead MoreEvasive Masculinity On Men s Lifestyle Magazines936 Words   |  4 PagesMen s lifestyle magazines are now argued to be an important locus and breeding ground for what has recently been dubbed new lad masculinity (Benwell, 2004, pp3). The second article this essay is going to explore is that by Benwell (2004) titled, Evasive masculinity in men s lifestyle magazines. By definition, new lad masculinity describes the rejection of the previously recognised new man ; a feminist concept which emerged in the nineteen eighties (Nixon, 2001). By this, BenwellRead MoreBeing A Man Is The Journey We All Take When Growing Up1393 Words   |  6 Pagesâ€Å"In the last ten years, a surprisingly large number of publications have focused on feminism and its historic evolution.† Feminism has been around since forever and there have been many changes in society due to the courage and protest of feminist all around the entire world. The history of feminist is very interesting and astonishing due to their dedication. Paragraph 1- In paragraph 12, Greer says, â€Å"Masculinity is a system. It is the complex of learned behaviors and subtly coded interactions that